Bill and Tom's Excellent Adventure
And I wept when it was all done... for being done too soon, for being done too soon.
The planning. The time that goes into planning these things. The details, the specifics. Decisions. Trying to imagine what it will be like... what we will need. How it will feel... how we will react. Planning not only the agenda, but for the resources we'll need, and for contingencies unforeseen.
The anticipation. Knowing it will be work. Hard work. Knowing we'll be tested. Afraid of the possibility of failure but excited about the chance to feel success and accomplishment.
There is a point of realization where your mind switches from the images conjured and formed during the planning process, to the cold hard reality of implementation. The planning process being full of nebulous, hazy, vague and often romanticized thoughts, images and feelings of what you are about to do, which get quickly replaced by the stark, bold, distinct, and often ugly facts that present themselves when you actually take action.
For me this point of demarcation came on Sunday morning May 11th as Tom and I prepared to ride away from our hotel in Pueblo, on the first day of our ride.
(Here we are all packed and ready for mile #1 on Sunday May 11th)
My stomach was in knots. My mind raced with thoughts, not the least being: "Can I actually do this?"
We were off and riding. It didn't take long for some feeling of comfort to overcome me and I relaxed and enjoyed the ride. But that level of anxiety, of discomforting worry and fear would return again and again during the trip... almost nightly, as I would review the agenda for the next day. Would the weather hold? Would there be hills that might defeat me? Would the wind turn against us and beat us into submission? And my most personal and private fear, Will I have the strength to ride as far as we were planning? But each day we got up, packed, and peddled our bikes. And each day brought us a new level of accomplishment, of wonder, and a sense of personal achievement and victory.
I was having the time of my life. The trip far exceeded my wildest dreams. Not only was I having a great time with Tom, viewing wonderful parts of America as we rolled by at 8 to 12 miles per hour, but it had been years since I had felt so alive and had such a confirmation of proof of life... proof that I am indeed alive - felt ever so viscerally through the daily cycle of fear of the unknown being overcome by the accomplishment of doing and achieving. There is no better way, and certainly no more primal means, to feel the blood pumping through your veins, than this!
Tom
Now let me say a few words about Tom. My youngest son is amazing. I would not have had a fraction of the fun and enjoyment of this ride without him. People say we are a lot alike. That might be. First, I enjoyed our time together because we have great conversations. Tom and I have conversations as I have with few others. We can go from one end of intelligence to the other and back again within a single sentence... without even trying. I mean, during a discussion about the political nature of man, we might quickly digress to a comment about the shapely legs of a gal that just walked by, and without so much as a pause, be back on the subject of the writings of Thomas Jefferson, or John Locke.
(Tom and I on the road in eastern Colorado and at our camp in Haswell, Colorado)
(Tom and I outside the Hostel in Scott City, Kansas and in our room at the Trails-End Motel in Tribune, Kansas)
Second, Tom also took great care of me during the trip. On our second day I bonked very bad. I was dehydrated and became disoriented, faint, and weak. I had to lie down. We were in the middle of nowhere (Arlington, Colorado) and out of water. Tom had to get me to some shade (not easy to do in eastern Colorado) so I could lie down, then go off and hunt down some water at one of the few ranches in the area.
I know all my kids pretty well, but this gave me a chance to get to know Tom even more, and what we shared during the trip built an even stronger bond between us.
Freedom and Life
You get a tremendous sense of freedom while traveling around by bike. Your spirit soars and the shackles of everyday life (though certain to return after the trip is completed) are lost and you feel free.
I believe that the metaphor of the open road is easily understood by your soul, and that seeing no obstructions to the end of the earth is so instructive to your mind, like the ultimate pictogram, that you cannot help but feel a joy for life, a lifting of limits, and intuitively experience the elation of living large.
Friends
It is hard to explain the feeling that overcomes you when you meet up with others on the road. When we came across rider(s) heading east/west, we'd stop and share with each other. The feeling is hard to describe. You are drawn to each other. You must stop. You have to. You find out what each other are doing, where you are going, why you are doing it. You want to help, to let the others know about a special place to take a break, to find water, to eat, or to sleep. You swap names, email addresses, and blog sites. You take photos.
We met Chris and Andy the first day.
Chris is from Kentucky and is riding to San Diego.
Andy is from Virginia and is riding to Oregon. They met up and rode together from Kentucky to Colorado.
Larry Dragon and Julie Ryan are from Massachusetts.
They were driven to Virginia by Larry's son where they started their cross country ride on the Trans-Am trail.
Mike Rucci is from NYC and is riding to California.
Mike is our hero because when Tom had two broken spokes in Leoit, Kansas, and we were stranded on the side of the road trying to get his bike at least usable until we could get to a bike shop, Mike rode up and had two extra long spare spokes we could use to engineer a temporary solution to our problem. He was a nice guy making an incredible journey.
Scott Nichols is riding from Iowa to California for his brothers wedding.
We shared a campground in Haswell, Colorado with Scott.
Ken and Sue Yerex of British Columbia, Canada have tons of experience riding.
They rode from BC, Canada to Florida and are heading back to BC.
They have been riding for years and have a million stories from the road.
Sights
Oh the sights you'll see... well,
There is a whole lot of nothing over vast stretches on eastern Colorado and western Kansas. Almost like a lunar landscape. But there are also lots of cool things to see along the way, from the natural wonders, to the tourist traps.
(You can still see Pikes Peak in the background over 60 miles away from where this picture was taken in eastern Colorado.)
(Progress is measured by mile markers and milestones.)
(Western Kansas is all about cattle... you pass very large feed lots - the smell is something hard to describe. And, its all about the cowboy - I had a blast in Dodge City)
Lastly, here is a bit of advice to all parents... when your son (or daughter) asks to spend a couple weeks with you on a special adventure, DO IT! Find a way, make the time, spend the money. These chances do not come about on any regular basis, so take them when they are presented. Trust me on this, you'll be glad you did. I am.
Tom: thanks for thinking up this trip, for suggesting it to me, and for actually doing it together. I will remember and cherish this for the rest of my life.
The planning. The time that goes into planning these things. The details, the specifics. Decisions. Trying to imagine what it will be like... what we will need. How it will feel... how we will react. Planning not only the agenda, but for the resources we'll need, and for contingencies unforeseen.
The anticipation. Knowing it will be work. Hard work. Knowing we'll be tested. Afraid of the possibility of failure but excited about the chance to feel success and accomplishment.
There is a point of realization where your mind switches from the images conjured and formed during the planning process, to the cold hard reality of implementation. The planning process being full of nebulous, hazy, vague and often romanticized thoughts, images and feelings of what you are about to do, which get quickly replaced by the stark, bold, distinct, and often ugly facts that present themselves when you actually take action.
For me this point of demarcation came on Sunday morning May 11th as Tom and I prepared to ride away from our hotel in Pueblo, on the first day of our ride.
(Here we are all packed and ready for mile #1 on Sunday May 11th)
My stomach was in knots. My mind raced with thoughts, not the least being: "Can I actually do this?"
We were off and riding. It didn't take long for some feeling of comfort to overcome me and I relaxed and enjoyed the ride. But that level of anxiety, of discomforting worry and fear would return again and again during the trip... almost nightly, as I would review the agenda for the next day. Would the weather hold? Would there be hills that might defeat me? Would the wind turn against us and beat us into submission? And my most personal and private fear, Will I have the strength to ride as far as we were planning? But each day we got up, packed, and peddled our bikes. And each day brought us a new level of accomplishment, of wonder, and a sense of personal achievement and victory.
I was having the time of my life. The trip far exceeded my wildest dreams. Not only was I having a great time with Tom, viewing wonderful parts of America as we rolled by at 8 to 12 miles per hour, but it had been years since I had felt so alive and had such a confirmation of proof of life... proof that I am indeed alive - felt ever so viscerally through the daily cycle of fear of the unknown being overcome by the accomplishment of doing and achieving. There is no better way, and certainly no more primal means, to feel the blood pumping through your veins, than this!
Tom
Now let me say a few words about Tom. My youngest son is amazing. I would not have had a fraction of the fun and enjoyment of this ride without him. People say we are a lot alike. That might be. First, I enjoyed our time together because we have great conversations. Tom and I have conversations as I have with few others. We can go from one end of intelligence to the other and back again within a single sentence... without even trying. I mean, during a discussion about the political nature of man, we might quickly digress to a comment about the shapely legs of a gal that just walked by, and without so much as a pause, be back on the subject of the writings of Thomas Jefferson, or John Locke.
(Tom and I on the road in eastern Colorado and at our camp in Haswell, Colorado)
(Tom and I outside the Hostel in Scott City, Kansas and in our room at the Trails-End Motel in Tribune, Kansas)
Second, Tom also took great care of me during the trip. On our second day I bonked very bad. I was dehydrated and became disoriented, faint, and weak. I had to lie down. We were in the middle of nowhere (Arlington, Colorado) and out of water. Tom had to get me to some shade (not easy to do in eastern Colorado) so I could lie down, then go off and hunt down some water at one of the few ranches in the area.
I know all my kids pretty well, but this gave me a chance to get to know Tom even more, and what we shared during the trip built an even stronger bond between us.
Freedom and Life
You get a tremendous sense of freedom while traveling around by bike. Your spirit soars and the shackles of everyday life (though certain to return after the trip is completed) are lost and you feel free.
I believe that the metaphor of the open road is easily understood by your soul, and that seeing no obstructions to the end of the earth is so instructive to your mind, like the ultimate pictogram, that you cannot help but feel a joy for life, a lifting of limits, and intuitively experience the elation of living large.
Friends
It is hard to explain the feeling that overcomes you when you meet up with others on the road. When we came across rider(s) heading east/west, we'd stop and share with each other. The feeling is hard to describe. You are drawn to each other. You must stop. You have to. You find out what each other are doing, where you are going, why you are doing it. You want to help, to let the others know about a special place to take a break, to find water, to eat, or to sleep. You swap names, email addresses, and blog sites. You take photos.
We met Chris and Andy the first day.
Chris is from Kentucky and is riding to San Diego.
Andy is from Virginia and is riding to Oregon. They met up and rode together from Kentucky to Colorado.
Larry Dragon and Julie Ryan are from Massachusetts.
They were driven to Virginia by Larry's son where they started their cross country ride on the Trans-Am trail.
Mike Rucci is from NYC and is riding to California.
Mike is our hero because when Tom had two broken spokes in Leoit, Kansas, and we were stranded on the side of the road trying to get his bike at least usable until we could get to a bike shop, Mike rode up and had two extra long spare spokes we could use to engineer a temporary solution to our problem. He was a nice guy making an incredible journey.
Scott Nichols is riding from Iowa to California for his brothers wedding.
We shared a campground in Haswell, Colorado with Scott.
Ken and Sue Yerex of British Columbia, Canada have tons of experience riding.
They rode from BC, Canada to Florida and are heading back to BC.
They have been riding for years and have a million stories from the road.
Sights
Oh the sights you'll see... well,
There is a whole lot of nothing over vast stretches on eastern Colorado and western Kansas. Almost like a lunar landscape. But there are also lots of cool things to see along the way, from the natural wonders, to the tourist traps.
(You can still see Pikes Peak in the background over 60 miles away from where this picture was taken in eastern Colorado.)
(Progress is measured by mile markers and milestones.)
(Western Kansas is all about cattle... you pass very large feed lots - the smell is something hard to describe. And, its all about the cowboy - I had a blast in Dodge City)
Lastly, here is a bit of advice to all parents... when your son (or daughter) asks to spend a couple weeks with you on a special adventure, DO IT! Find a way, make the time, spend the money. These chances do not come about on any regular basis, so take them when they are presented. Trust me on this, you'll be glad you did. I am.
Tom: thanks for thinking up this trip, for suggesting it to me, and for actually doing it together. I will remember and cherish this for the rest of my life.